(Almost) Tech-free Holidays

Over the holiday break my fiance and I attempted to go tech-free as much as possible, especially Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We did pretty good, opting for quality time with a movie marathon, catching up on some TV series (can't wait for Downton Abbey season 3!), a little post-holiday sales shopping, and Les Miserables. It is so easy to get lost in laptops, smartphones, and other devices that it is important to make a conscious effort to put them aside once in a while.

But....technology does have some advantages. Today I was thinking about some of the ways I used various tech tools (despite attempts otherwise) in the last two weeks:

• Using my Canon Rebel T3i camera to make copies of family photos at the future in-laws
• Using the Ancestry.com app on the iPad to share what I have found at family gatherings, instantly update the tree with more names and find more information from historical documents as we talked
• Edit family photos on my laptop to upload to Ancestry program and make copies for family on printer/scanner
• Search Pinterest for inspiration to make holiday wreaths
• Search online for instructions on how to make a bows for wreaths (found, but ended up not using them)
• Listen to audiobooks downloaded from public library while making the wreaths
• Download and read books onto Kindle
• Saved Christmas specials throughout December on DVR to watch on holidays (LOVE Prep & Landing!) 
• Pretending we had a fireplace with the yule log on OnDemand (couldn't resist!) while opening presents
• Use shopping lists on Grocery IQ app on my phone

What didn't I use? Twitter, the "professional" email account for listservs, writing blog posts, etc. 

Technology is such an integral part of our lives that we must strive to find the balance between helpful and distracting. One of my resolutions is to do more tech-free days on non-holidays, as well as holidays.